Doors Open This Weekendhttp://www.clacksweb.org.uk/council/press/?release=4241
There is still time to take part in the Doors Open Days in Clackmannanshire this weekend (23 and 24 September). In this Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology we will be celebrating a range of buildings, as well as archaeological and industrial landmarks.

Special events in Clackmannan will include Heritage Trail Walks and performances of Tales of Clackmannan by members of the talented Walking Theatre Company. There will be guided tours of Clackmannan and Sauchie Towers and a display of memorabilia relating to Bonnie Prince Charlie in Alloa Tower. New heritage walks exploring the former Alloa House estate and Alloa Wagon Way, generated by the work of the Inner Forth Landscape Initiative project A Tale of Two Estates, will also take place.

St Mungo's Parish Church in Alloa and Clackmannan Parish Church are celebrating their bicentenaries, while Sauchie and Coalsnaughton Parish Church is commemorating its 175th anniversary and will have a special exhibition of wedding dresses on display. Many other properties and sites are also featured, including Alva Ice House, Alva Old Kirkyard, as well as Tullibole Castle, near Crook of Devon, which is taking part in the programme for the first time.

There are still places available on the tours of Clackmannan Tower and to see the Tales of Clackmannan on 24th. The tower tours should be booked by calling 01324 831568 or emailing info@innerforthlandscape.co.uk by no later than 12 noon on Friday 22nd September. Tales of Clackmannan should be booked by calling 01259 219473 or emailing clackdevtrust@hotmail.com, if possible by 12 noon on Friday 22nd September.

Full details of the times of tours and performances are available on the website www.doorsopendays.org.uk as well as in the programme booklet, which is available in all libraries as well as on the Doors Open Days page on www.clacks.gov.uk.

]]>2017-09-18T00:00:00+00:00Deputy First Minister visits Tullibody schoolhttp://www.clacksweb.org.uk/council/press/?release=4240
Clackmannanshire is celebrating its success in raising awareness of the importance of children and young people's mental and emotional wellbeing.

Last week (Thursday 31st August) children, parents and staff from Abercromby Primary School, Tullibody, shared their positive partnership working with The Spark with the Deputy First Minister.

John Swinney was given gold star treatment, meeting the whole school community and observing first hand, the impact of a focus on early and effective interventions for children.

For The Spark, who provide relationship and counselling support for children in some of our schools in Clackmannanshire, this was a great opportunity to highlight our child-centred wellbeing programmes and demonstrate our commitment to the social and emotional wellbeing of young people.

Deputy First Minister, John Swinney said: "Our children's health and emotional wellbeing is one of the most important considerations that we must take as parents, carers and teachers. Counselling can play a key role in improving pupil health and wellbeing and can have a direct positive impact on attainment. We know that if a child's emotional and mental wellbeing are negatively impacted by difficult experiences, then learning is fundamentally and significantly impaired.

"I was delighted to visit Abercromby Primary School in Clackmannanshire and see first-hand the positive impact and effect that the Spark counselling service is having on young people at the school. This service is providing a safe space to identified children, giving them an opportunity to explore their feelings and emotions.

"With the financial support of the Scottish Government's Pupil Equity Funding - spent at the discretion of Headteachers - this service is carried out effectively through collaborative working between the school and the local authority. It is done with the firm understanding that a child's ability to learn in the classroom does not exist in isolation of the wider circumstances that they may be coping with at home and in their community. It is essential that all children are given appropriate support to achieve their potential."

Education Spokesperson Cllr Graham Lindsay said: "Social and emotional wellbeing creates the foundations for healthy behaviours and educational attainment. The targeted and universal activities showcased here at Abercromby and provided within the Clackmannanshire Attainment Challenge, highlight the importance we place on child-centred, multi-agency approaches to improve wellbeing and close the poverty related attainment gap."

Stella Gibson, Chief Executive of The Spark, said: "Our partnership with Clackmannanshire Council has enabled us to evaluate our school counselling service, demonstrating the hugely positive impact it is having on pupils' emotional health and well-being.

"Teachers have said the counselling The Spark delivers in schools improves the children's concentration, behaviour, coping skills and motivation. Parents echo these sentiments and find their children more settled, both at school and at home.

"We are delighted the Scottish Government's Pupil Equity Funding is supporting children's emotional health and well-being. We are thrilled to meet with Mr Swinney to show him the benefits of The Spark's services first hand."

Notes to Editor

The Spark Counselling Service is part of a suite of child-centred health and wellbeing interventions in Clackmannanshire's Scottish Attainment Challenge programme.

The aim of The Spark approach is to provide a non-stigmatising counselling service for identified young people in primary schools using independent, supportive professionals to meet more effectively their health and wellbeing needs.

Research shows that some children and young people across experience periods in their development when they need support with mental and emotional wellbeing. By identifying issues early, determining potential risks and providing early intervention to prevent issues escalating, the chances of children and young people reaching their potential and leading happy, healthy lives as adults increases.

Focussing on emotional, mental and social wellbeing through engagement with organisations such as The Spark has been shown to positively impact on the outcomes for our most vulnerable and at risk children and young people.

]]>2017-09-04T00:00:00+00:00Plans for Tullibody South Campus Progresshttp://www.clacksweb.org.uk/council/press/?release=4237
Plans for the construction of a Tullibody South Campus, incorporating a new build of Abercromby PS, the nursery and a relocation and new build of St Bernadette's RC PS within the grounds of Abercromby PS have taken a step forward this week.

Council agreed to advanced works to be undertaken with temporary accommodation being erected early in September 2017 at a meeting yesterday.

Councillors agreed the outline design for the new campus building today and were also informed of the appointment of Hub East Central Scotland (Amber Blue) to develop a design and build project for the Tullibody South Campus as well as a Design Team.

Councillors heard that a series of workshops have been held with staff from Abercromby Primary, St Bernadette's RC Primary and Abercromby Nursery. Meetings have also been held with both Abercromby and St Bernadette's Parent Council and Tullibody Community Council.

Two meetings of a Stakeholder's Group have been held, incorporating school representatives plus representatives from the Tullibody community and the Roman Catholic Church.

Visits to other shared campuses in Fife and Stirling have been undertaken and future visits are planned to Dundee and Perth and Kinross. This has given an opportunity for questions to be answered and ideas to be added to the design brief.

The proposed design reflects the fact that St Bernadette's RC Primary School, Abercromby Primary School and the nursery will continue to exist as separate entities within the campus, each having their own staff, management teams, budgets, ethos and visions. They will share facilities such as outdoor learning space, toilets, meeting rooms, games hall and dining facilities.

The nursery will enable provision of 1140 hours to be delivered in August 2019 ahead of the Scottish Government implementation date in 2020.

The shared campus will include meeting rooms, a library, IT facilities and sports facilities which will be available for community use.

As part of the pre-planning application, the views of all stakeholders regarding the design and configuration for this development will be sought. In order to give the local community an opportunity to view the plans and find out more about the traffic management plans and the school travel plan there will be an information evening in Abercromby Primary School on 14th September 2017 from 3.30pm to 7.30pm.

The full planning application will be submitted later in the year and will be considered by the Council's Planning Committee. If planning permission is granted then it is intended that work on site will begin in April 2018 and that the school will be ready to be occupied in August 2019.

Education spokesperson Cllr Graham Lindsay said: "I am delighted to see these outlines designs being agreed which represent a £15million investment in the future of education in Tullibody. The need for this new campus is absolutely clear and we owe it the children in the community to move this project forward. The construction of a new Abercromby Primary, Abercromby Nursery and a new St Bernadette's RC Primary within the grounds of Abercromby Primary was the overwhelming choice of the local community in the public consultation. I would like to emphasise that we will continue to provide opportunities for these communities to give their views and engage with the design process and I encourage all interested parties to go along to the forthcoming information evening."

]]>2017-09-01T00:00:00+00:00Community Council Interim Elections Resulthttp://www.clacksweb.org.uk/council/press/?release=4238
New members of Alloa, Clackmannan, Dollar, Menstrie, and Tullibody Cambus & Glenochil community councils were elected unopposed at the end of last month. To find out who the new community councillors are for these areas, see the declaration in your local CAP office or go to the Council's website

Provost Tina Murphy said: "Congratulations to the new Community Councillors who have taken on this important responsibility on behalf of their communities. The interim elections were held as an opportunity to increase the number of Community Councillors in these areas and to ensure the continued community representation throughout the whole of Clackmannanshire. This is an excellent result for us and is a good sign that there is still a real and active interest in citizen participation.

"Community Councils are an important channel of communication about whatmatters to their community. Clackmannanshire Council recognises the significant role Community Councils have in gathering and presenting the views of the people who live here."

]]>2017-09-01T00:00:00+00:00Keith Brown meets Council Leaders about City Region Dealhttp://www.clacksweb.org.uk/council/press/?release=4239
Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Jobs and Fair Work Keith Brown MSP today met with senior officials from Stirling Council and Clackmannanshire Council as negotiations on Stirling and Clackmannanshire's City Region Deal continue.

The City Region Deal sets out an ambitious transformation programme to deliver a healthier, wealthier and greener future for the Stirling and Clackmannanshire area.

Economy Secretary Keith Brown said: "The Scottish Government is committed to a city region deal for Stirling and Clackmannanshire, which is an opportunity to unlock investment, boost inclusive economic growth and invest in infrastructure for the entire region. It was a useful opportunity to meet the council leaders to hear about their plans as negotiations continue. We are currently working through the detail of the proposals with the regional partners to make sure that we get the best outcomes for businesses and communities and I look forward to agreeing a deal in due course."

Clackmannanshire Council Leader Les Sharp said, "The City Region Deal bid is a real opportunity to make a significant boost to the local economy and for all our residents to benefit from sustainable, high quality employment that our projects will provide. It's potentially a long-term investment for the area and I am delighted that the Cabinet Secretary took time out of his busy diary to hear more about our plans first hand."

Stirling Council Leader Scott Farmer said, "It was great to welcome the Cabinet Secretary to Stirling today - we appreciate him taking the time to hear about our plans for Stirling and Clackmannanshire first hand. Our City Region Deal will make sure Stirling becomes a world class destination and a place of opportunity for all our residents. Negotiations with the Scottish and UK Governments continue to progress well as we work towards a Heads of Terms Agreement."

]]>2017-09-01T00:00:00+00:00Transformational City Deal Plans Move Aheadhttp://www.clacksweb.org.uk/council/press/?release=4236
An ambitious framework for growing Clackmannanshire's economy over the next 20 years is taking shape.

The progress is being made as the Council progresses its potentially transformational plans as part of the Stirling & Clackmannanshire City Deal bid.

City Deals are a mixture of public and private sector money aimed at promoting economic growth. These long term improvements aim to allow everyone in the area to reach their full potential.

Initial priorities for Clackmannanshire were identified at two stakeholder workshops facilitated by the Scottish Futures Trust late in 2016. These have been further informed by the series of stakeholder workshops that took place between January and May 2017. Over 80 individuals from a range of organisations have participated in this process.

This process generated a range of potential projects which are being refined by Council officers under three thematic headings:

Investor Confidence

Inclusive Growth

Sustainable Place

'Investor Confidence' will increase the level of private sector investment in the area, bringing forward new business premises, housing development sites, transport infrastructure and new schools; regenerating Alloa Town Centre and allowing access to enhanced digital infrastructure and digital skills to create a Smart County.

'Inclusive Growth' will "invest in our people at all stages of life to ensure that we have a well skilled, healthy and resilient population and an innovative, engaged and productive workforce." Developments include an Achievement Campus in Sauchie; innovative learning systems that build on the attainment challenge; and family support to address poverty and exclusion from learning, employment and training opportunities.

'Sustainable Place' supports the broader aims of the City Region Deal through investment in the green sector: green jobs, green infrastructure and green energy, although the benefits apply across the economic and social fields as well as the environmental field. Included are developments at Alloa Harbour and the riverside to provide a focus for regenerating the Alloa South and East area. Plus a community energy network across the programme area with a focus on geothermal and other sustainable energy sources.

A focus on the geographical areas of Alloa, Sauchie and Forestmill has been identified on the basis of major development projects already approved in the Local Development Plan which require significant public sector support to release land and private investment. The 'people' aspects of the projects such as employability, health & well-being and attainment will also be available to residents who need them across the whole county. In addition the positive economic impacts on these geographies will have wider impacts across the county and the region, for example increased job opportunities

Council Leader Les Sharp said: "The City Deal bid is a real opportunity to make a significant boost to the local economy and for all our residents to benefit from sustainable, high quality employment that our projects will provide. It's potentially a long-term investment for the area and I'm pleased to see that we've taken account of local views as part of the development of the bid."

]]>2017-08-31T00:00:00+00:00New 5-a-side Football to Support Mental Wellbeinghttp://www.clacksweb.org.uk/council/press/?release=4235
The physical benefits of playing 5-a-side are well documented, but what is less known is the fantastic mental health benefits a weekly game can give you. Not only are you going to get a cardio blast, but also boost your mood, decrease stress and increase happiness.

The Council is launching a new 5-a-side football opportunity specifically aimed at supporting mental wellbeing. The idea is to provide a regular exercise opportunity for people in the area suffering from mental wellbeing issues or loneliness and help them socialise and discuss any issues affecting them.

The idea behind the new activity came from local resident Paul MacKintosh and Clackmannanshire Council's sports development team, and Clackmannanshire Healthier Lives were delighted to support the idea.

Thanks to the support of the two organisations the first four weeks of 5-a-side will be available at no charge to participants.

Paul MacKintosh said: "This is a great resource for anyone looking to improve their mental wellbeing or making new friends and enjoying a game of football. There will also be the chance to discuss any problems or issues that people might have and I will try and help in any way I can. I would like to thank Clackmannanshire Council and Clackmannanshire Healthier Lives for the help and support they have provided in setting this up."

The football will take place on Tuesday 5th, 12th, 19th and 26th September 2017 from 8pm to 9pm in Alva Academy games hall. No need to book, just turn up.

]]>2017-08-28T00:00:00+00:00School Streets Project to Begin in Clackmannanshirehttp://www.clacksweb.org.uk/council/press/?release=4234
A new projects to improve road safety around Clackmannan Primary School is being introduced at the start of the new term on 22 August.A School Street project is where the road outside a school is closed to through traffic for short periods at school opening and closing times.

This helps to achieve a safer and more pleasant environment for everyone using the street whilst maintaining access for residents, businesses, pedestrians and cyclists. In Clackmannan, that means that on Lochies Road and Castle Terrace, vehicle exclusion zones will operate Monday-Friday between 8:30-9:10am and 2:50-3:20pm, during school term time only. Access is permitted for local residents and businesses if their vehicle is registered for a school streets permit, blue badge holders and local service buses.

This project is being introduced in Clackmannan to meet one of the main priorities that local people identified in the Clackmannan Community Plan, to address road safety issues in the primary school area. Local residents and businesses in the affected streets have been contacted with information on how they can apply, free of charge, for a School Streets Permit for a vehicle or vehicles registered to their address. Signs will inform drivers of the restrictions before the entrance to the closed street.

Where non-registered vehicles are found to be driven within the zone during exclusion times, a penalty charge notice can be issued.Education Spokesperson Cllr Graham Lindsay said: "The safety of our communities is a key priority for the Council, and in our discussions with the local community, they let us know that they wanted us to look at how road safety around the school could be improved. This project is part of the wider £5 million investment that is being made to regenerate and improve Clackmannan, and I look forward to hearing how the project develops, and if it is suitable for other areas of Clackmannanshire.

"This project will also include improvements to the roads and pavements around the school with the aim of improving pupil road safety, encouraging active travel and promoting responsible parking. School Streets Projects have been introduced successfully in other parts of Scotland, and this first local project will be evaluated fully to see if it could be introduced to other schools in Clackmannanshire, although not all schools will be suitable.

]]>2017-08-14T00:00:00+00:00Stand Up for Your Communityhttp://www.clacksweb.org.uk/council/press/?release=4233
If you live in Alloa, Cambus, Clackmannan, Dollar, Forestmill, Glenochil, Kennet, Menstrie or Tullibody then you have an opportunity this month to stand for election or nominate somebody else to become a community councillor.

Nominations to Alloa, Clackmannan, Dollar, Menstrie,and Tullibody Cambus & Glenochil Community Councils open on Wednesday 9th August, and you can fill in the form to stand for election or nominate someone else for election by filling in a form.

There are a total of 37 community councillor places up for election across Clackmannanshire. Alloa Clackmannan and Dollar Community Councils each have eight vacancies , Menstrie has six vacancies and Tullibody Cambus and Glenochil have seven vacancies.

Nominations to community councils need a nominee, a proposer and a seconder who fill out a nomination form. Anyone who is over the age of 16 and who appears on our electoral roll in the Community Council area can stand for election, propose or second.

This formal election process is a distinct feature of community councils and these elections come at a time when the public is being asked to say what they think about how community councils operate, including the method by which people become community councillors. Clackmannanshire Council welcomes views on community councils through the online Community Council Scheme consultation on our website.

Provost Cllr Tina Murphy offered encouragement to anyone wondering if they should play an active part in their community council. "No matter who you are, everyone has something to contribute to their community and helping a community council achieve all it can on behalf of residents is one way of playing your part as an active citizen. The work of a community councillor can be challenging but communities do benefit hugely from your efforts and it can be a really rewarding experience."

Notices inviting residents to make nominations to the community councils through these interim elections are going up at key community locations within the local areas.

Closing date for nominations is 4pm on Wednesday 30th August 2017. For further information or to obtain a nomination pack, please contact: the Elections Office at Clackmannanshire Council on 01259 452266, email: elections@clacks.gov.uk or see the Community Council section on www.clacks.gov.uk

]]>2017-08-09T00:00:00+00:00Well done to Clackmannanshire's Young People on Exam Resultshttp://www.clacksweb.org.uk/council/press/?release=4232
The Council has praised Clackmannanshire's young people, and thanked school staff and parents and carers, on a successful set of SQA results for this year's exam diet.

This year's results demonstrate the full breadth of changes introduced by Curriculum for Excellence and the phasing in of the new National Qualifications, as well as the Developing the Young Workforce programme. Along with the new qualifications at National 1-5, Higher and Advanced Higher, young people have had the opportunity to develop qualifications and progression routes related to wider life and work skills e.g. Sports Leaders qualifications, Foundation Apprenticeships, National Progression Awards and Skills for Work courses.

There has been an increase in attainment at National 5 compared to last year. There is also a slight increase in attainment at Higher and Advanced Higher level. Alva, Lornshill and Alloa Academies are all showing improvements in their results compared with last year.

Results remain preliminary and are expected to further improve once all units are submitted and the post-results service is complete. All post-results data plus the full set of awards gained will be updated when the national online benchmarking data is published in February 2018.

Education Spokesperson Cllr Graham Lindsay said: "My congratulations to all the young people in Clackmannanshire who have worked so hard on their qualifications, and also my thanks to school staff and parents and carers for their support. This clearly demonstrates the commitment of the Education Service to ongoing improvement. I will continue to work closely with the Chief Education Officer and our schools to ensure that we drive forward improvements for all our young people."

Two helplines are open for candidates following the issuing of the exam results.

Skills Development Scotland (SDS) has an Exams Results helpline offering advice, information and support for young people and their parents. Help is available from qualified careers advisers who have unique access to information on UCAS course vacancies at UK colleges and universities, Confirmation and Clearing, advice about Modern Apprenticeships, employment and training opportunities.

The helpline will be open from 8am on 8th August. The number to call is 0808 100 8000. Information for pupils and parents is also available on SDS's My World of Work web service . There is also information about Modern Apprenticeships and Foundation Apprenticeships at www.apprenticeships.scot. Students can also access help, advice and support via SDS's Facebook page which has practical help and links to UCAS, SAAS, Young Scot and the SQA.

Meanwhile, the SQA Candidate Advice Line provides information for candidates on the content and layout of their certificate. Details are available on the candidate's results paperwork.